Time's Up! Effective Use of Instructional Time

[Music]
Interviewer: That’s time! All right.
I do like to use a timer because I feel like if you give students too much time to do a task, then the task drags out, and they don’t stay focused as much as they should, so the timer really helps them with that concrete, “This is how much time you have, it’s gonna go off, you need to be done when the timer goes off.”
You guys done—you’re done with the map here?
Interviewee: Yeah, we’re done.
Interviewer: You’re finishing your totals?
So it would be right about there.
Interviewee: What?
Interviewer: Yeah.
[Background talking]
It’s for me, too, because I can get so caught up as a teacher, and going around and checking in at each table, and really looking at the kids, and I can get a little caught up in that and lose track of time, and so it helps keep me on task. Then, for the students, the timer really helps give them the concrete, “This is when it’s done.”
That is it. Finish up.
Just helps them stay on task and helps keep them focused, and I feel like that little bit of pressure helps push the kids a little bit.
[Music]
[End of Video 01:20]

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